Rockets get Clips star Paul in 8-player trade
Chris Paul is heading to Houston to join James Harden, giving the Rockets two All-Stars in the backcourt for their championship chase.
In the NBA’s second blockbuster trade in less than a week, the Rockets acquired Paul from the Clippers yesterday in exchange for Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell, Darrun Hilliard, DeAndre Liggins, Kyle Wiltjer, a protected first-round pick next year and cash considerations.
Paul, 32, opted in for the last year of his contract so the Clippers could work on a deal.
The Rockets had just acquired Hilliard from Detroit and Liggins from Dallas for cash considerations before adding them to the deal for Paul.
Nine-time All-Star Paul has averaged 18.7 points, 9.9 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 steals over his 12-year career, though he has been dogged with criticism in recent years for failing to help the Clippers get out of the second round of the playoffs.
Houston also acquired Ryan Kelly from Atlanta and Tim Quarterman from Portland for cash considerations and Shawn Long from Philadelphia for a future second-round pick and cash considerations.
Knicks jettison Jackson
Phil Jackson and the New York Knicks parted ways after he oversaw one of the worst eras in team history and feuded with star Carmelo Anthony.
Days after Jackson reiterated his desire to trade Anthony and said he would listen to deals for Kristaps Porzingis, Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan reversed course and cut ties with the team president.
Dolan said in a statement that the team would be “going in a different direction.”
The move comes less than a week after Jackson led the Knicks through the draft and on the eve of free agency that opens Saturday.
Winner of an NBA-record 11 titles as coach, Jackson couldn’t engineer one playoff berth as an executive. The Knicks were 80-166 in his three full seasons, including a franchise-worst 17-65 in 2014-15.
Raptors tab Webster GM
The Toronto Raptors promoted Bobby Webster to general manager, making the 32-year-old the youngest GM in the NBA.
Webster will report to team president Masai Ujiri. He replaces Jeff Weltman, who left Toronto in May to become president of the Orlando Magic.
A former staffer at the league office in New York, Webster joined the Raptors in 2013 and was named assistant GM in 2016.
Toronto promoted Dan Tolzman to assistant general manager.
’Bron doing documentary
LeBron James is teaming with Showtime on a documentary that will examine the modern NBA and the league’s impact on popular culture. The Cavaliers superstar, who has been producing TV and movie projects for several years, will serve as an executive producer with longtime business partner Maverick Carter.
The three-part documentary will be directed by filmmaker Gotham Chopra and premiere in 2018. Chopra previously produced and directed a successful documentary on Kobe Bryant.
Curry teeing up vs. pros
Two-time NBA MVP Steph Curry will test his golf game against the pros, the Web.com Tour announced. Curry is scheduled to play in the Ellie Mae Classic. The event at TPC Stonebrae in Hayward, Calif., runs from Aug. 3-6. . . .
The Los Angeles Lakers exercised their $1.3 million contract option on guard David Nwaba for the upcoming season.